Dazzling Lights Crown Jupiter | Space Wallpaper

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By Space.com Staff
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Dazzling Lights Crown Jupiter
Just like Earth, Jupiter's magnetic field channels charged solar particles to the poles which creates brilliant light shows called aurorae. (Image credit: NASA/ESA/Hubble)

Charged particles from the Sun directed by Jupiter's magnetic field create majestic aurorae at the north pole of Jupiter in this image by the Hubble Space Telescope. Aurorae are caused when electrons, detached from their molecules upon hitting the atmosphere of a planet, are drawn back to those molecules with electric force. That electricity creates the colorful auroral glow. The Juno spacecraft is poised to get some amazing images of powerful aurorae with its arrival at the gas giant in early July. [Learn all about the Juno mission to Jupiter]

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Space.com Staff
Space.com Staff
News and editorial team

Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.